The unforgiving doors of Prescott Medical College, were at the other end of the building where the students sat under. These students would be Emily Carter and othe freshmen –in the beginning stage of their paradigm shift from one era to the next. Maybe the novelty of a college that had the potential to be both frightening and thrilling was somewhere inside of her. The gates – thick iron bars stamped with the logo, possible a college's, looked very misplaced and seem to be better suited hanging on a fence than controlling the entrance of an institution.
stepping her feet into a courtyard for the first time tapping her foot to the ground, she swiveled around the warm scene of students surrounding her. They were all together, smiling and taking pages or clips of themselves and were in a scatter as they searched for their classes with exuberance. An ever so ordinary girl clothed in old tattered jeans and a ripped sweater turned round to survey the campus. She slipped inside, together with her ragged canvas bag, when all the attention had been on the bag
The classroom seemed enormous and packed with a bunch of students whose 'chatter' was enough to get on her nerves. She stood up quickly and grabbed a chair, the first one she could find at the far end of the room. The girl looked around one more time: pieces of clothing with students wearing their branded backpacks, ladies wearing expensive dresses and self-assured ladies, all of whom have already formed their manners after a couple of months in school.
In her inner life, she immediately felt that she was the one out who did not belong, at least not in their kind of society.
A minute later, the two doors that stood opposite each other opened at the same time, and a quite tall, thin man clad in a white coat walked into the room.
His stillness imposed silence without him ever having to speak first and the whole auditorium got quieter. A man had that calm firmness which was inherent in everyone causing every scholar to pull themselves just a bit more.
"Welcome to Prescott Medical College," he started, an aurora of calmness and strength in his voice. "Congratulations to you for getting here. Undoubtedly, you are among the best in your generation, but hear me out and hear me out very well: you are going to get out of here in five years, but intelligence alone will not be enough to get you through. You are going to need discipline, resilience, and sacrifice."
Emily swallowed hard, struggling to remove the uncomfortable goosebumps that pricked her skin. The statements were uttered like a provocation and Emily could feel a number of them sitting heavily on her back. The purposes that she had for being here seemed rather different from those of her colleagues. She had no family traditions or distinguished sponsors. She was here for her aspirations. She wanted to create a future based on her goals.
As she pondered over her personal thoughts, she hardly noticed as the Dean finished with his introduction and began to discuss the course outline consisting of study hours, number of subjects, timetables and the general importance of being on time and hard work to the course. As she tried to focus her brain on the few words that he was still attempting to say, most of his remarks became irrelevant to her.
"Did you see her shoes? Where'd she buy those, a thrift shop?" A girl by her right side said to one of her friends while the girl was supposed to be whispering low.
Emily flushed, and bit back the hurt. She had seen those kinds of people before – rich, arrogant, and ready to offer their opinions without being asked. She thought again of herself, of her purpose. She had gone through worse and come out still strong.
After the introduction, the students were told to adhere to their seniors who will take them around the campus. While moving in groups, Emily fell behind because she did not know whom she was to follow. She was contemplating whether to go on her own when a gentle voice called out her name.
"Emily? Emily Carter, if I'm not mistaken?"
Looking in that direction, she found herself face to face with a little girl who was all smiles and her palm was upright with her fingers out. "I'm Mia. We are apparently in the same class. Are you also seated at the rear?"
Emily blinked. Here was a girl smiling and looking sincere when she had not really been expecting even that sort of gesture. She quickly returned it. "Yeah, I guess I'm just trying to avoid being in the spotlight."
Mia laughed. Her laughter was carefree and to an extent, it was genuine. "You and I both. I have never been this far from home. I don't know anyone here. Would you like to go around with me?"
Emily felt a sense of calm. She was blinking repeatedly, this was at least confirmed. Having one friend in such a huge and unwelcoming environment was a godsend. While walking the corridors, Mia was constantly leading in pointing out the rooms they would be working in stating, labs and study lounges and how she was eager to become a neurosurgeon one day. Emily just felt fatigue. She could relate to Mia's eagerness but was unable to shake off the feeling of being an outsider.
Their excursion concluded in the lunchroom, where students had joined for lunch. Lunch wrinkled Emily's other clothes because she turned and observed the lunch prices, each of them higher than she could sustain without the greatest anxiety that her next meal would not come to her for ages. Determined not to take lunch, she showed indifference to her hunger pangs so that she could avoid disturbance from Mia.
As people got seats, their table was walked up to by seniors who were as friendly as they were suspicion-laden while introducing themselves. One of them, a tall guy with a silky smooth voice and spraying expensive cologne, turned and stared at Emily. Letting out a deep breath, he asked, "New here, aren't you?" while looking at her clothes.
As Emily prepared to suffer another humiliation, she was amazed to hear Mia speak, and rapidly dispensed with any unnecessary etiquette by introducing them both before the potential dullness had a chance to establish itself. The team exchanged formalities and left them to go after other pals, considering it's time to be with Emily and Mia.
"Nevermind them," hissed Mia "They do tend to go a bit further than normal." "But what the hey! We're here to learn medicine for gawd's sake! Not popularity contests."
Due to the casual nature of Mia's words, Emily has no choice but to feel relieved. A quit of discomfort, perhaps, and Emily thinks that perhaps out of sheer luck, she may actually be able to fit in.
The rest of the day was filled with meeting people, walking around the campus some more, and taking lectures on what to expect in the weeks to come. Emily took it all in as though she was preparing for a battle. When classes were over and it was the closing time for the last batch, it was hard to tell the ganeekaz if it was more sombre outside or inside the campus. Too fatigued to care, she hunted for the routes back to the hostel where she was staying.
In her weak and small shared dorm room, she let herself feel weak for a second. Weak for Liam, weak for the money that she had to send him in some time, weak for the due amount that she had to cover for her educational needs. Such desperation drove her to apply for night shifts at a nearby bar where it was unquestionable that she lower her quality by working in a bar.
In lying down on her also narrow bed, Emily came to the realization that this was just an opening. First of all, she was not in any medicine course to begin with. She was not even dreamt of saving people's lives. She was at such a region in which only the optimism for a better future was her only hope.
Resigned, she reclined and shut her eyes knowing that the morning was not far away. The evening was a pleasant start but the trials that awaited were rather troublesome, if her experience indicated anything, it was to endure. And perhaps, perhaps there would be an opportunity to reap some benefits.